Pride & Prejudice: Breaking Expectations
by DarowdrynofArcadia
Summary: Lizzie Bennet is a disappointment to her mother because she wants no man. When a wealthy heiress and her best friend roll into town, will Lizzy be able to put aside her first impression, or will she lose forever the greatest chance she has at making both herself and her mother happy?
1. Introductions

**A/N:** Ok guys, I know what you're all thinking. "Why are you starting ANOTHER story when you haven't even finished one of the other four you have?" The answer is simple: I am stuck on the DA ones, the nect chapter of Technical Difficulties is a work in progress, and Katniss needs to work out some of her addiction jitters with Johanna first. Other half of the answer is also simple. I LOVE P&P. :3 I don't know how many times I've read it, and I've read Darcy's story like twelve times and P&P&Z three. But don't worry! This story won't deviate from what I write much, which means that aside from being a modern look at the story, it's also a bit AU in terms of people.

All characters still belong to Jane Austen way back when, I'm just changing them a little for the story. Her writing is what inspired this, and you should venerate her thusly. :)

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It is a truth to be universally acknowledged that a man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife. At least, that's what my _dear_ mother continues to say. Personally, I don't see the fuss over men in general, sweaty, grabby brutes who paw at you and leer and make horridly obtuse passes at you, no thanks to that. O'course, I'd never let my mother hear me saying that, she has a way of being horridly shrill and tetchy when she fancies herself upset, and being reminded that I don't much care for men would certainly upset her. She needled me for months after my senior dance, an event I went to in order to shut her up but turned down every guy that asked to go with me. She told me that I'd never get a husband if I turned down every man on the planet, though I don't see that as a problem. Anyway, hi, I'm Lizzie Bennet, and this is the sordid tale of my family's fall from grace into fortune.

* * *

"Tom! TOOOOOOOM! Oh Thomas dear, I've just got word of the most _splendid _news!" The shrill screech of my mother cuts through the atmosphere of the house, loud enough to penetrate my shield of pillows and force to lift my head from sleep. I can see my older sister Jane doing the same, her angelic face adorably wreathed in sleep still. I wince when mother continues to shout, "Netherfield is let at last! Mrs. Long just came from the lot over and called me straight away, some young gentleman came out to see the place and bought it immediately! Imagine, paying on the spot for Netherfield, oh he must be _very_ rich indeed, how wonderful for our girls!" Jane and I stumble out of our room, clutching pillows to ward off hugs with, and lean on opposite sides of the doorway leading to the main room of the house. Our father notices our approach but holds his silence, cracking the newspaper and turning a page before answering his wife, "What effect can it possibly have on them, Nancy?"

The look my mother gives him then would be the look you'd expect someone to give a goose that just laid a golden egg, or perhaps if they saw you grow another head on the spot. She is absolutely incredulous that he can't understand what she means that it is a few moments before she replies, "Well, he's going to marry one of them of course! I mean, there are five of them, and though they aren't all perfect, Jane certainly is, and Lydia is so full of life that even being the youngest she might catch him. I'm sure that if she'd stop being so bloody tiresome, Lizzie could even be so lucky." Jane looks at me with sympathy in her eyes, and I just shake my head and sigh frustratedly because my mother refuses to acknowledge what I've been trying to tell her since I was sixteen. I don't want a man, and there's a perfectly good reason for it. I can appreciate how pretty some of them are, or handsome or whatever you want to use to describe the good looking ones, but I hunger for sweeter meats. Oh God, that sounds bad... I mean that I'm gay, and my mother won't acknowledge it. She stubbornly refuses to accept that women are really where my desires lay, so sure is she that the right _man_ will come along and sweep me off my feet and I'll say, "Oh corks! Mother dear was right all along, twas just a phase! Oh [insert man's name here], you have cured me of my wicked ways, take me and we shall make a dozen babes!"

Except not. That's not going to happen, and I don't care how charming or handsome he is, no man is ever going to change me. I just wish she'd accept that...

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I am Wilhelmina Darcy, heiress of the Pemberley Estates and some great fortune. Of course, that fortune is maintained by business contracts with many companies, all under the heading of Darcy Enterprises Global. My father was... a great man, and I miss him terribly, more now than ever. He has left me in charge of his contracts, his funding, his money, his lands, and his other daughter. I love my sister, truly I do, but it is difficult when I am nearly eight years her senior to find ways to connect to her. Add to that a recent trouble with a boyfriend of hers, and... well suffice it to say that the relationship between two sisters is a little strained at the moment. As a consequence, I am actually quite glad of the invitation in my hands right now. A friend of mine from college, one Charles Bingley, has recently decided to buy a house away from London, to enjoy the country air he says, though I think it's more to get away from his office than anything. He's quite successful himself, having built his fortunes on his own(more or less), though he isn't up on the level of _moi_. Okay, so I have a bit of pride about what Dad left me... sue me, okay? Still, Charlie is a good guy, and I want the best for him. Out there, he can get his head on straight, and maybe I can take a break too. I call him up and tell him I'll join him, though it'll be a couple days before everything is settled enough for me to go. I smile as I hear his exuberance and tell him to go be himself, I'll show up when I can. Suddenly, I'm looking forward to something like I haven't been able to do for almost a year.

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**A/N:** Okay, in consequence of the chapters being so short in the book, I just realized I might have difficulty padding it out WELL to 4000 words. :/ Hmm. Anyway, please read and review!


	2. Preparing for Battle

**A/N:** To save all of you the trouble of wondering what this story is about, here it is. I will admit that I had hoped it was self evident, but I did get some questions about it so I'll lay it out.

**Characters:** Elizabeth Bennet, 20 years old, student still in uni and in love with classical literature. She hasn't quite decided what to do with her life yet. Works in food service and has a reputation for being sarcastic to the point of confusing her customers when they flirt with her, as well as doing some flirting of her own if the customer is a sufficiently attractive young woman.

Jane Bennet, 23 years old, recently graduated with a degree in political sciences, is considering going back to school to become a kindergarten teacher. Currently is working in a hair salon to save money.

Wilhelmina Darcy, age 24, recently became the CEO of her father's company and inherited all of his wealth. Came as a surprise to her parents, who were so convinced that their child would be a boy that they had already decided to name him Fitzwilliam. Throughout her life, she has proven to be driven, nearly to the point of madness, and has put very little time into maintaining social graces except where her best friend Charles Bingley is concerned.

Charles Bingley, age 24, self-built man to a point, though he did inherit a large trust when he hit his majority. Tends to be content to sit back and leave the management of his affairs to his sisters, who are so concerned with social perception that they would never allow anything to endanger their perceived worth.

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"Lizzie, stop yawning so much! You'll never find a good man if you keep acting like a little heathen, child!" My mother is harping on me again, though I don't see how she can still think I care what she has to say. Ever since I was old enough to form my own opinions, I have never actually agreed with her or given her words credence. I have always been, and always will be, my own woman and quite independent of her. This morning, I stare her down without blinking, my spoon in my bowl as I pause my devouring of the same cereal I always eat. "Oh mother dearest, however will I repay you for your oh-so-kind advice? I had completely forgotten that my only goal in life is marrying myself off to some man for the sake of being a baby machine for him and providing him with squillions of little hims." I am gratified to hear my father harrumph a bit of a chuckle at that statement, purely because he long ago accepted what my mother so steadfastly ignores and even loves me more for my departure. The way he sees it, the fact that I am a lesbian is one thing more that makes me _his__ daughter_. I am not my mother's favorite, that's Jane, and I am not her most pampered, that's Lydia. I'm not the most "accomplished", that's Mary, and I'm certainly not the most clingy, an honor which belongs only to Kitty. I am however, the most opinionated, quite likely the wittiest, and most definitely the only one that my father feels comfortable having a chat with when it comes to prospects. He does love our debates, and yet he also loves comparing women and making jokes about who is sexier than who, and so forth.

Mum on the other hand doesn't understand a thing about me, and if I hadn't given up on her ages ago, that would irritate the shit out of me. I gave up when I was thirteen though, because that was the first time I truly developed my own opinion and argued with her about it, which led me to realize that even then I was actually better able to reason things out than she was. The look on her face now is about the same as it was back then, and she turns away with an angry huff and starts to berate Da again for not going to visit Bingley right out of the gate. He just shrugs and smiles a secretive little smile, and I have to wonder if he actually did go visit the man already and just hasn't told us. Before I can ask him and reveal him for the smarmy bugger that he is(and I say that with all the love in the world), Kitty walks into the room and he reveals himself. "Katherine darling, that's quite a nice number you've got on there. I'm sure Mr. Bingley will love seeing you wear it at his to-do this coming weekend." Mum cries out, as she does, and exclaims, "Well we're not in a way to know _what_ he likes, since you won't go and chat with him! We can't very well show up at his bloody estate without him knowing who we are, it would be embarrassing!" Dad does that thing he does when he knows something you don't and chews his lips for a moment before smugly returning fire, "I can assure you that he is at least prepared for Jane to show up, and possibly Lizzie since he says that his best mate from school is showing up at the event, some wealthy heiress or other. If he's not ready for the rest of your brood, that's on the heads of the townies for not gossiping enough." At that, her exultations damn near lift the roof off of our home and she attempted to pretend that it was all thanks to her insistence that he went and visited Bingley at all, though I know better. He did it just to have a laugh at her and possibly make his daughters happy.

* * *

The week goes by and we've all failed to get Da to tell us anything about the man at all, even me. I have tried every tactic I can think of, Jane has begged with her biggest and saddest puppy-dog eyes, Mary has ignored it all like usual, and Kitty and Lydia have attempted to gang up on him and he still won't talk. I suppose in my case, I wasn't actually that interested because I was wondering about the friend, but for him to resist even Jane, that's a feat I never thought possible. The night of comes and I'm having to keep everyone calm except myself. I don't get excited about these things because Mum always manages to put me off straight away, but the others always feel like this could be the moment that changes their lives forever. I suppose they aren't entirely wrong, Mary could someday be heard by a scout for some orchestra or another, but even if she was there's no guarantee that she'd be given a place. For all of her technical skill, she still somehow manages to bore me with her playing, whether on a piano or on her violin. Jane, well...Jane would just have to get lucky and catch the eye of some rich man and her life could change in an instant, regardless of the fact that she is a woman with a degree in political sciences and no real job. For the moment, she's working with me in a small restaurant in Meryton, but if the party that the _illustrious_ Mr. Charles Bingley is throwing in the town hall goes the way my father believes it might, that could change in an instant.

Myself, I'm fine where I am. Unless I can become a famous author or find the exact right person with the right mindset, I think I'll likely be a serving girl for the rest of my life, in so much as I can stay pretty. I find that I actually don't even mind that idea, though for tonight I suppose I should pretend that I do not want that and at least try to have some fun and make connections. For Father's sake, of course.

Jane walks into my room to help me get ready and also to have me zip her into her dress, and as always she outshines me effortlessly. Golden blonde hair done up in a careless twist, held in place by elegant chopsticks. Generous curves adorned in a soft satin dress the color of the sky at sunset. Tasteful jewelry of twisted gold and silver with a few perfect pearls here and there. If she wasn't my sister, I'd probably be drooling, however I am immune to her after having lived with her for so many years. I still remember her when she was awkward and stringy and I had to fight her bullies.

For me, tonight is going to be a whirlwind of brushing off men and being the less beautiful of the the Bennet sisters. People frequently forget there are actually five of us, so that title only encompasses Jane and I, and yet I believe I prefer it that way. The less I am connected to Lydia and Kitty, the better. Anyway, tonight I am putting forth effort to make my family happy and be the daughter I spend my time trying not to be. That means that my chestnut locks are twisted into a braided knot high on the back of my head, my features are minimally accented with make up, and I am dressed in a crimson silk dress that manages to enhance my meager assets and show off my fit physique. Both Jane and I are wearing heels, though hers are pearly enough to match her jewelry and mine are as red as my dress. At last, we are ready to venture into the night.


End file.
